This morning, I decided I wanted to see more shorebirds (after having been to Hayward Regional Shoreline the previous day), so I went to Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay, with my dad. Pillar Point Harbor is about 45 minutes south from San Francisco, but only 25 minutes from my house in Pacifica. As we were driving along Highway-1, the weather became rather dismal and dreary, which discouraged us from continuing on. But, instead of bailing and heading back home, we continued down the highway towards the harbor. We finally arrived, and the weather remained unfortunate: gray skies as far as the eye can see, fierce and chilling winds, and the insidious mist that slowly crept up on us to place little droplets of water on the lenses of my binoculars, scope, and camera. We weren't convinced we were going to see much. Then, a single White-Crowned Sparrow perched atop a shrub began singing its tiny heart out. If the weather didn't get to this little guy, then why should it bother us?
We then walked on the gravel path next to an open and hilly forest. Chesnut-Backed Chickadees flew from tree to tree, and Black Phoebes chirped loudly from their exposed perches. We finally arrived at the beach portion of the harbor. Western Gulls and Brown Pelicans flew around the docked sailboats, disappearing when entering heavily misted and foggy areas, and reappearing much further away. Then, we began to notice darker gulls flying nearby, with white heads and red bills. These were the Heermann's Gulls that have recently arrived from their breeding grounds in Baja California. These are by far the most colorful gull species in the Bay Area, and probably my personal favorite species of local gull.
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| Heermann's Gull |
Not too far from the gull shown above, were several Whimbrels that walked along the beach's edge, probing the sand in search for some grub. Much like the Heermann's Gulls, the Whimbrels have recently just arrived from their breeding grounds, up in the far north arctic. Next to the Whimbrels were two Surfbirds that were also feeding on some grub that they found hiding in algae.
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| Whimbrel in center, next to the two Surfbirds |
On adjacent rocks, Willets and other Whimbrels were foraging as well. The Willets were more numerous than the Whimbrels, but not by much. The Willets were however rowdier and much more boisterous. The Whimbrels would only make noise when they were in flight, but the Willets were calling whether they were foraging or flying.
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| One of the many rambunctious Willets |
Nearby, a single Black-Bellied Plover skittered on the sand, not exactly paying attention to the commotion caused by the overactive scolopacids.
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| Black-Bellied Plover |
Then, I noticed on the same rock where there was all the action a lonely sandpiper-like bird with its head tucked into its wing. What intrigued me was its gray, barred stomach, and yellow legs. Finally, it took its head out, and looked around. It had a dark gray line run right through its eye, and had a dark gray cap. I was very happy to say I was looking at a Wandering Tattler, because this was the first time I saw one in the Bay Area, and only the second time in my entire life. The first time I saw one was on the island of Kaua'i, on the south shore. To top it off, the ones I saw in Kaua'i were in nonbreeding plumage, whereas this one was in complete breeding plumage. It was probably the best find of the day for me. However, I am not saying that it is a rare bird for the Bay Area: during the right season, they are relatively easy to find, or so I've been told. I've just never looked in the right habitat during the right season.
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| Wandering Tattler |
After, leaving the tattler alone, I looked at the harbor with my scope and found several other species including Double-Crested Cormorants, Surf Scoters, and two Common Loons. Another interesting find were 4 female Red-Breasted Mergansers. These are rare birds for this area and have been sighted several times earlier this week, so I was happy to actually get a good look at them.
Finally, on our way back to the car, we saw two Killdeer quickly running across the sand, away from us. A flock of 16 Western Sandpipers flew over the harbor and landed on the beach. They did this several times. Once I got in the car, I was about to look at the pictures, but I see a female Mallard fly off over the nearby salt marsh pond: a pleasant way to end the morning.
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